The McKinley High Chronicles : Book 1
by Fan-Fables
Summary: The Lima Incursion : "This wasn't the first time I'd found myself tied to a chair; but unfortunately this was not a theatre stage." Thanks to Quinn and her gang, Rachel's all tied up with no place to go. Yet nothing is ever as it seems in 'The McKinley High Chronicles'.
1. Chapter 1

**_The McKinley High Chronicles : Book 1 The Lima Incursion (The Faculty / Rachel)_**

_Li·ma 1. __The capital and largest city of Peru 2. __A city in north-west Ohio south-south-west of Toledo. _

**When Rachel finds herself abducted by fellow Glee Club members, the only thing she can think of is escape... and Nationals. In 'The McKinley High Chronicles', different classic high school horror movies play out in the halls of William McKinley High. Somehow, either Quinn or Rachel, always find themselves caught in the middle.**

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**Disclaimer :** _Glee, the television musical comedy-drama, belongs to the production companies 20__th__ Century Fox Television, Brad Falchuck Teley-Vision and Ryan Murphy Productions. I do not own the Glee characters depicted in this story._

_**Authors Note :** This series begins soon after the Glee Episode 'Michael' (Episode 11 : Season 3). In that episode, Rachel asked for Quinn's advice, in regards to Finn's marriage proposal. At the end of the episode, Rachel still feels unsure about accepting Finn's proposal._

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**Chapter One**

This wasn't the first time I'd found myself tied to a chair; but unfortunately, this was not a theatre stage.

All my years of performance training couldn't have readied me for being hit over the head, abducted, taken to an empty classroom and then bound to an uncomfortable McKinley High emblazoned chair.

One thing I did learn, from acting in scenes of mild peril, is to always stay as quiet as soon as you come around. Do not startle your abductors. Especially when their leader is the schools newly reinstated head cheerleader, Quinn Fabray.

"Just stay by the door Santana and make sure no one comes in. You've done enough." Adrenaline spiked through me as I heard the forceful whisper of Quinn's voice, her anger coming through thickly with each word. "Puck and I have this. Yell if you see any teachers coming." Keeping my eyes shut feigning sleep, I tested the duct tape that tightly bound my hands behind my back, cautiously twisting my wrists to test how secure they were. The tape didn't loosen one bit.

"I think she's awake?" The deep curious voice that I recognised as Pucks, one of the schools jock's and self-proclaimed Lothario, made me still all my movements.

"Rachel?" Quinn's voice sounded calmer and nearer, much nearer, now. I tried not to react to her question, but when I felt a soft hand trace the side of my face, I shoved back away from it, scraping the chair along the floor. Quinn's eyes widened, as she looked into my own startled ones, before she let out a relived breath. "Oh thank god, when Santana knocked you out, I thought you wouldn't wake up. I was so worried."

"What the hell is WRONG WITH YOU!" My voice exploded, not just from anger, but from pent-up fear. Sparing a glance at Santana and Brittany stood peering out the half-open door of the classroom, before cutting my eye at Puck, I pinned Quinn with my sternest glare.

"Let me go NOW!" I began to rock in the chair, desperately trying to tug and pull free.

"Ey-yo, Chica." I stopped squirming as Santana turned around to cast me a withering look, "Tape it shut, you are going to get us all killed".

I felt my stomach drop at the thinly veiled warning, frantically turning to Quinn, then Puck. "Killed? What? How?" My words came out in a jumble, half-whispering, as I feared Santana would hear me. "Why are you doing this to me? I know we don't always get along, but Quinn," I urgently nodded my head at her, "We're friends now. Plus we are all in Glee together, with Nationals right around the corner." I continued to tug sorely at my bindings. "I won't tell anyone if you just let me go now, don't do this, whatever it is you have planned."

Quinn stepped towards me, her hands raised in surrender, her voice quiet and calm. "We aren't going to hurt you,"she crouched down and I felt her take in my entire face, her expression curious as she looked me over, "we had to make sure you weren't one of them."

"One of whom?" I stopped tugging at the duct tape as I eyed her in confusion.

She lowered her head briefly, before pinning me with an unwavering stare. "To make sure you're not one of the Body Snatchers."

I sat and waited for the punchline. Quinn however, stared openly at me, as I began to shake my head derisively "A Body Snatcher?" My voice dripped with incredulity, "you think I am a Body Snatcher?"

"No, not all..." Quinn began to explain.

"I do." Santana's addition to the conversation was abrupt, the agnosticism in her voice came through loud and clear from where she stood watch. Pointing an accusing finger at Quinn, Santana continued, "but little Miss Where's My Berrylicious, over there, wouldn't let it go".

"Santana!" Quinn harshly cut in, slapping Puck on the arm as he scoffed at Santana's words.

"Look, we are trying to get everyone out," Quinn turned back to face me earnestly, "but we needed to make sure you weren't one of them. Santana wasn't supposed to knock you out," Quinn's voice hardened as she turned to jab an accusatory finger at her friend.

"Berrylicious?" I questioned, surprised as Quinn's face began to flush at the question, before I shook my head dismissively. This was insane. They were all insane. "I don't know what you guys think you are doing, but enough." I glanced around looking for a way out of this mess, "I thought we were all past the bullying and the mind games."

Returning my attention to the bindings around my hands, relief washed over me, as I felt a small tear in the fabric of the duct tape. "I am most disappointed in you Quinn," I chattered, hoping to distract Quinn and Puck from my attempt at freedom. "I'd truly thought we'd found some common ground as friends, but this," I jutted my head indicating the situation they'd tied me in, "this has taking our friendship ten steps back, I can assure you."

"Oh God, you really are Rachel" Puck groaned, rudely interrupting my diatribe, before he shoved a dark strip of weird processed food in front of me. "Just eat this so we can all go".

I eyed the meat product blankly, then Puck, before finally resting on Quinn. "What," my voice strained as I spoke through gritted teeth, "is that?" I glanced at the food stuff presently shoved under my nose, recoiling back at the spicy scent it gave off.

"Its beef jerky. And its gonna save your life." Puck stated in all seriousness.

I refused to look at him, continuing to pin Quinn back with my eyes, unresponsive to the silent apology she held in hers. "I've just been hit over the head," I began, "kidnapped," I continued, "TIED to a CHAIR," my voice rose on every other word. "And now you are offering me, a vegan, BEEF JERKY!" Utilising my many years of vocalisation training, I forced my voice to carry clear out of the room into the school hallway. There was no way someone hadn't heard me out in the hallway.

"Ssh, Rachel, please," Quinn pleaded with me through a loud whisper. "The jerky is because they don't like the salt. The Body Snatchers I mean." Quinn quickly explained when my look turned dubious. "If you eat the jerky and don't freak out, that means you are in the clear. And we can all get out of here together. Please, just try a tiny piece of the meat and then we can..."

"Heads up! Heads up!" Santana interrupted, as both she and Brittany hurriedly closed the door and huddled into the classroom.

"Mr Schue is coming," Brittany dead-panned, leaving me confused as I watched her eyes begin to fill with tears.

"Look," I scanned them all, but finally rested my gaze upon Brittany, "just untie me okay?" I tried to make my voice as pacifying as possible. "Mr Schue won't find out. There's no need for anyone to get into trouble over this..."

"Shut it Baby Gap." I reeled in surprise at Santana's insult, not at her almost noiseless words, but from the complete lack of bite behind them. Santana's eyes were wide with fear, never once removing her gaze from the door, as I felt the classroom suddenly begin to feel subdued.

"Did you lock the door?" Quinn asked, sounding distracted, as she rushed behind me. I felt her hands shaking against mine as she began pulling at the ties that bound them. Twisting around to look over my shoulder, I could see the top of her head as she bent down to tear at the tape. "Santana!" Quinn demanded, when she heard no reply, "Did you lock the door?"

"No she didn't." I swiveled round to see Mr Schue enter the classroom, his upbeat voice in sharp contrast to the weighty tension in the room. "Not to worry though".

Our Spanish teacher and Glee Club coach seemed eerily jovial as he carefully closed the door behind him, making a big show of locking the latch, before he turned to face all five of us. "I've got that for you."

**TBC**


	2. Chapter 2

_Authors Note : Thanks for all the follows and faves! My aim is to add a new chapter once a week as I write and edit the story. I already have Book 1 of the series plotted and planned. And I've started work on plotting out Book 2.  
_

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**Chapter Two**

Quinn stopped pulling at my binds and slowly backed away as Mr Schue moved further into the room. Seeing Santana, Brittany and Puck take similar cautious steps back, I huffed in annoyance.

"What's going on?" Despite my irritation, I couldn't stop the tinge of dread I felt, from edging into my voice. "Mr Schue, please don't punish them over this." I lifted a shoulder, twisting my hands around to show him duct tape. "I know that they deserve an appropriate penalty for their actions," I continued talking over Brittany's loud wince, "but could you delay it until after Nationals? We need the team together and united. And just as soon as you get me out of this chair I can..."

"Be quite Rachel." Mr Schue sounded pissed off at me, his tone not quite matching the reassuring grin he had pinned to his face.

I couldn't put my finger on it but something felt off about his movements. "Mr Schue?"

"QUIET!" his voice ricocheted across the room and I would have leapt from my chair if I wasn't tied to it. "You never seem to learn respect for authority do you Rachel." Mr Schue eyed me menacingly as he came to a short stop in front of all five of us. "You four," he pointed indicating my nervous abductors, "need to go to the nurses office, along with the rest of the cheerios and the football squad." Out of the corner of my eye, I caught Santana moving away from us, as Mr Schue continued to lecture. "I suggest you make your way there now. I'll deal with Rachel." My heart leapt as he now turned his focus towards me.

I've always trusted my instincts. And despite what others may think, I do believe, I am a little psychic. And in that moment my every instinct screamed at me to flee and I frantically renewed my fight against my restraints.

No-one else, however, moved. For a heartbeat the classroom strained against the weight of tension before, with an emphatic yell, Puck threw himself at Mr Schue tackling him to the ground. A moment later, I saw Santana rush at the two men rolling around on the floor, having just grabbed a fire extinguisher from the side of the room. Santana pointed the nozzle at them. "Puck, get clear!" The two men continued to struggle some more, before Santana repeated herself, "Puck, damn it, get out the way!"

Puck rolled away from Mr Schue. And before the Spanish teacher could find his bearings Santana doused him with spray from the extinguisher. An inhuman wail, a sound like nails on a chalkboard, cried out from Mr Schue as he rolled around on the ground trying to avoid the spray. After a few long instants he stopped moving.

Santana stood back as we all turned to look at her with incredulity. "I remembered from Chem class," her smile was as wide and as genuine as I could ever remember it. "Sodium Chloride in the fire extinguishers." Santana turned to Brittany and clarified, "its like a big salt spray Brit."

While the others turned their back on me, distracted by the inert form of Mr Schue on the ground, I made a last pull at the tape around my hands. My heart leapt with joy as I finally managed to pull free. Keeping my movements as small as I could make them, I kept a careful eye on the others as they stood over Mr Schue, Quinn cautiously prodding at him with her foot.

I knew this was my only chance to get away, from my clearly disturbed glee club cohorts, as I bent down and undid the ties at my feet. For a fleeting moment I winced as I wondered what all this would mean for Nationals. How can we expect to win if our glee club members are kidnapping each other and attacking our coach?

Slowly rising to my feet, I shuffled carefully around the other four, giving them a wide berth, as they conversed anxiously among themselves.

"What do we do now?" Brittany asked as she crouched down to shake Mr Schue's foot. "Do we just leave him here?"

"We don't have a choice," Puck's shoulders slumped as he answered, "I don't wanna get brain-slugged like Mr Schue." Puck ran a frustrated hand over his short Mohawk. "We have to go warn our families. Get out of the city."

I'd reached the door when Quinn decided I should add my comments to the conversation. "Rachel, we need to..." Quinn turned to face the now empty chair I'd escaped. "Rachel?" She spun around, spotting me at the doorway, just as I was part way through quietly opening the latch.

"Rachel wait! It's too dangerous!" I snatched the latch open, all pretence of stealth tossed out the window. With a panicked yelp I threw open the door, just as Quinn made a move towards me, fleeing down the school hallway towards the front exit.

I barely felt the floor beneath me as I sprinted down the hallway. Making a sharp left turn I quickly dived into an empty classroom. Crouching down behind the door I listened, to the voices of Quinn and Puck calling my name, as they ran past outside.

Counting down slowly from ten to one, I took a deep breath, before I opened the door just enough to peek through the gap. The hallway looked clear. Deciding to make my exit I jerked the door open and ran right into a Cheerio who'd seemingly appeared out of no where.

"Look much?" she spat out, catching her balance, having staggered back from our collision. Crossing her arms in irritation, she gave me a dirty eye, "What's your damage?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, Heather is it?" Her name came to me as soon as I heard the grinding sound of her voice. Heather was the new cheerleader Santana had mentioned, in glee club, a few days ago. Apparently she'd impressed Coach Sylvester, in a short space of time, relegating Santana down the pyramid.

I'd noticed the new cheerleader when ever I'd hear her speak to Quinn in passing. Especially as her voice always sounded as though she was fighting a scratchy cough. I often found myself fighting the urge to offer her one of the many emergency throat lozenges I always carried with me.

"I apologise for my haste." I began, eyeing the area around us, curious at how empty the hallway was. "I'll be sure to look where I am going in the future. If you'll excuse me."

I nodded briefly then moved to step around her, but Heather shifted into my path, her arms still crossed, her face stony. "Wait one second" she tilted her head as her frown turned inquisitive, "You're that Rachel girl aren't you. Quinn mentioned she was looking for you."

I clenched my fists, as I took a cautious step back, but Heather either didn't notice or she didn't care. "Yes I'm Rachel," I spoke calmly feeling anything but, "and I'm going to go now." I uttered the words firmly, allowing the unease I felt to creep into them, readying myself for fight or flight.

"Where is Quinn?" Heather ignored my silent warning, unfolding her arms as she spoke, "Coach Sylvester wants to see her." Even though most of this schools Cheerleaders wore a bad attitude, like a badge of honour, something about Heather's demeanour seemed more unpleasant than usual.

Struggling to keep the slight tremor from my voice, I desperately wanted to glance around the hallway to look for someone, anyone. "I don't **know** where Quinn is." The pin-drop silence enveloping us indicated we were alone. Plus, I was simply too unnerved to drop her stare. It felt like she was challenging me.

"Well I think you do, Rachel. I think... "

_*BRRRRRRRRRRRR!*_

The school bell rang out, hacking through the air. Classrooms doors all along the hallway opened and poured out with students. My relief, at no longer being alone with this strange girl, was short-lived. Heather carefully stepped into my personal space, her overwhelming perfume stinging my nose with its scent, as she peered down at me from her four-inch height advantage. "I think," Heather continued, not missing a beat, "that you just need the right person asking the questions."

She suddenly grabbed my arm and began to manhandle me down the hallway.

"What are you doing? Un-hand me AT ONCE!" I clawed at her fingers but she held my arm with a painful vise-like grip.

Students parted for us without question, no-one willing to come to my aid, as she dragged me down the walkway.

"You can tell it to Coach Sylvester" Heather sounded bored with me, in stark contrast to her determined steps, as we made our way towards Coach Sylvester's office.

**TBC**


	3. Chapter 3

_Authors Note : Sorry about taking a little longer to upload this chapter. :) I'm probably going to do my uploads over the weekends, rather than mid-week (I have more time to edit the chapters then). _

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**Chapter 3**

I was rarely invited into Coach Sue Sylvester's office because in her eyes I'd committed a double sin. I was not cheerleader material and a member of the glee club.

Sure, there had been times we'd crossed paths, but at least Mr Schue and Principle Figgin's had been in the room as a buffer between us. Now I didn't even know if Mr Schue was alive. And with the increasingly erratic behaviour of everyone around me, I doubted Principle Figgin's could be relied upon to issue his personal brand of bland reassurance. I had to face Sue Sylvester alone.

"Rachel," Coach Sylvester's voice was uncharacteristically warm as she towered over me, perched on the corner of her wide office desk. I sat nervously looking up at her as she paused to sip from a big plastic cup of water. She'd been gulping it down greedily ever since I'd found myself dragged into this room. "Heather here tells me you know where my Head Cheerleader is."

She blindly gestured her now empty cup at Heather, who was standing at my side holding me down into my chair with an iron grip. "Go refill this will you Heather?" The cheerleader took the cup from Coach Sylvester, casting a look at me that dripped with disdain, then exited the room. As she carefully closed the door behind her, I almost wished for her to come back. Almost.

"Coach Sylvester," I began.

"Call me Sue." I jumped at the interruption. The Coaches cheerful announcement was in sharp contrast to her typically snide demeanour. Surprised by her outburst, I listed back as she leaned forward towards me, a welcoming smile on her face. "No need for formalities here." she carelessly waved an arm indicating the empty room around us.

I glanced around, nervous, before chuckling weakly in agreement. "Sue," I continued, "I, well, I don't know where Quinn is." I shrugged my shoulders helplessly. " Maybe she's with Santana or Brittany? You could ask them."

"That," Coach Sylvester's eyes lit up like I'd given her an epiphany, "is a fantastic idea!" She clapped her hands marvelling at my suggestion. " Thank you Rachel." Her face brightened holding such genuine joy that I couldn't work out if she was being sarcastic.

Up until now I'd thought Quinn and her gang of sidekicks were all mad. That their stunt in the classroom earlier was insane. Yet something was very, very wrong with everyone around me. That was not Mr Schue back in the classroom. And this person in front of me was certainly not Sue Sylvester.

As the Coach continued to congratulate me, for my unremarkable idea of deciding to ask Quinn's friends where Quinn was, I heard the door open and twisted round to see Heather return.

"Thank you Heather." Coach Sylvester took the now refilled big gulp cup and immediately began to sip from it like she'd been dying of thirst. She noticed my surprise and paused before taking yet another sip. "Water's nothing to take lightly, Rachel." She dropped her gaze to look at the cup she held, swivelling it around with curiosity. "Our bodies are 70% water. And between our sweat and tears we have to make sure we don't dehydrate away."

At that, Coach Sylvester began to laugh. Heather, who'd returned to her vigil beside me, chuckled in accord. After a few moments of hilarity they both stopped when they noticed I hadn't joined in with their merriment. To pacify them, I expressed a barely audible "heh". I then watched as they both began to laugh as though I'd just delivered the punchline to an epic joke. I had to get out of here.

"Coach Sylvester, I mean, Sue?" As I spoke I was a little startled at the abrupt halt in laughter. "Maybe I can help you?" I put on my biggest broad-way smile, the one I'd been practising since the age of three. "I can help you find Quinn. If I can just go I can ask around..."

My voice trailed off as I felt Heather move behind me, lightly placing a hand on each of my shoulders, while Coach Sylvester turned to retrieve a small glass cylinder from her desk drawer. "Yes, you are going to help me." I jumped as I saw something crawl around inside the glass cylinder, but Heather clamped her hands down even firmer on my shoulders. "And I am going to help you in return".

Coach Sylvester unscrewed the top of the glass container and snatched up an unusual looking larva. The translucent grub flicked to and fro trying to wriggle out of her grasp but the Coach held it securely.

"Now." Coach Sylvester moved towards me as I struggled in vain, pulling at Heather's hands but getting no inch of freedom. "This," she paused for emphasis, "will sting a lot."

I took a deep breath to cry for help but Heather clamped a hand on my mouth, her other arm tight around my neck as she held me down in the chair. I had no idea what was going on, or why Coach Sylvester was brandishing a slug, but I didn't hold back as I let out a muffled scream.

Just as I tried to kick out at Coach Sylvester, who'd deftly side-stepped my leg swipe, I heard the loud bang of the office door swinging wide open.

"Back away Coach." Never in my life had I ever felt so relieved to hear the hard menace return to Quinn's voice. As Heather released me I turned to find Quinn, armed with a fire extinguisher, in a face off with Coach Sue Sylvester.

Sue stopped her approach. "Quinn," the warm smile she carried earlier had now grown malicious, "we were just talking about you."

"Did I stutter?" Quinn raised a derisory eyebrow when neither Coach Sylvester nor Heather backed off. "Fine. You brought this on yourselves" She flicked on the extinguisher and began to douse a now screaming Coach Sylvester from head to toe.

A heartbeat later I flung myself from my seat, hurtling a shoulder shove at Heather, throwing everything I had behind it. I almost knocked her off her feet, but thanks to her cheerleader balance, she managed to keep from toppling over. With a chilling shriek, Heather ran past Quinn before she could turn the extinguisher on her fellow cheerleader.

"She's getting away." My throat felt sore from the earlier headlock and I gasped out the words as Heather escaped out the door and into the hallway.

"Forget her." Quinn held out a hand to me, partly distracted by the squirming form of Sue Sylvester wriggling around on the floor. "We need to get out of this school now."

I did not need telling twice. I grabbed her hand, grateful for the sense of safety I felt within its grip. As I half-pulled half-dragged Quinn out of the room, pacing ahead of her, we left Coach Sylvester's still wailing shell behind.

**TBC**


	4. Chapter 4

_Authors Note : This story is largely unbeta'd, (I am still on the lookout for a regular beta), so its likely there are a few unintentional mistakes in this fan fic.  
_

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**Chapter 4**

We had almost made it to the front entrance of the school, when we spotted a group of ten or so class freshman, milling around the exit. Quinn squeaked behind me, half-warning half-surprise and before we could be spotted, hustled us into a small utility closet.

"What are you doing?" I whispered, her panic spiking my own. I spun around to face her in the unlit closet space. "We need to get out of here and call the police or something!"

Quinn whispered her tone sardonic, "So you believe me now?" She spared me half a glance before peering out through a small crack in the door.

"Don't be so facetious." Irritated my voice began to rise but I checked my volume back down to an urgent whisper. "You hit me over the head, kidnapped me, tried to feed me beef jerky," I didn't however hold back my vexation, "then you tried to tell me that Body Snatchers made you do it." I rolled my eyes but she didn't see it, still peering through at the group of students outside. "What on earth did you expect me to think?"

"Santana hit you over the head." Quinn's response was flippant as she carefully closed the door and flicked on the light. "I tried to stop her." She checked the fire extinguisher she still held and tapped at the glass cover of the level indicator. "We're almost out. It's not enough to take on all those guys out there."

"First of all, why did Santana have to hit me?" I refused to let that one go, "And second, do you really think all of those students have been," I hesitated as I tried to find the right phrase, refusing to accept the term Body Snatchers, "taken?"

"Yep." Quinn's concise answer sounded distracted as she began checking around the utility closet, browsing through the labels of the different liquids stored on the shelves. "Those are freshman cheerleaders and some of the football squad. They would be the first to get Body Snatched."

My brow furrowed as I began to think back. Ever since yesterday afternoon, the principle was seeing a roll-call of students. The non-stop stream of tannoy messages started out by requesting each member of the hockey team. And since this morning, the football squad and the cheerleaders had their names sounded out over the school speakers. At lunch, gossiping with my friends Kurt and Mercedes, we'd concluded that someone's parent must have finally complained about bullying in the school. A thought then occurred to me.

"How did you escape? How did you all escape?" My voice started to rise before I remembered we needed to keep quiet. "I mean," I dropped my tone dipping my head co-conspiratorially, "why aren't you one of them. I heard your name called out on the tannoy."

"Pure luck," Quinn said as she spun around to face me. She had abandoned the fire extinguisher for a plastic tub holding a blue liquid. She lifted the container to display the label. "Its a cleaning detergent," Quinn stated, seeming lost as she continued, "it must have a lot of salt in it right?"

I nodded in agreement. "Sure of course. So how did you escape?" I said, nudging Quinn back to my original question.

"San, Brit and I were doing extra cheerleader drills in the field. Coach said she wanted us to burn off our embarrassment," Quinn rolled her eyes, "something about having to re-earn our places on the squad." She shook her head clear of the insanity that was Coach Sylvester's regime. "We didn't even hear our names on the tannoy. Puck was skipping class and hung around to watch us train. He was going to give me a lift afterwards, so we could visit Beth during lunchtime."

Quinn's eyes dropped for a moment when she mentioned the baby girl she and Puck had given up for adoption. "When we went to change in the Cheerios locker-room some of the freshman cheerleaders were acting kinda off. Telling us we seriously had to go see Coach Sylvester." I watched her run an agitated hand through her loose blonde hair, now freed from the mandatory Cheerio hairstyle of a tight ponytail. "When we went to Coach Sylvester's office we walked in on Coach and Mr Schue pinning down this freshman, Lisa. They were putting this grub thing in her ear." Quinn's face wrinkled in disgust and I too felt sickened. That would have happened to me too if Quinn hadn't saved me.

"They both saw us and we just ran. We've tried to get out of school ever since lunchtime but they are everywhere. We called the police but they act like it's just another prank call." Shaking her head Quinn sat down on an empty crate in the corner of the small storage space. "It's like they targeted the teachers and the popular kids first, you know? Its easier to infiltrate when you've taken over the ones in power."

"Why did you think I'd been brain slugged? I'm not one of the popular kids." I smiled to take the sting of accusation away from my words. I'd long since forgiven Quinn for our combative past.

"You've acted different lately. Even Santana worried." Quinn chuckled at my astonishment. "That surprised me too. All we knew was that anyone acting unusual was probably one of them. I didn't want to leave you behind," her voice grew shy as she dropped my gaze, "I wanted to make sure. Besides," her face brightened as she raised her head to look at me with a wry smile, "I always told you you'd make it out of Lima. That can't happen if you get body snatched."

I crouched down in front of her and took hold of her hand, gripping it warmly. "Thank you. You took a big risk coming to look for me. Twice now." I reached up to hug her and after a few stunned moments Quinn returned the hug. I breathed in her perfume as we held each other for a few seconds, before letting each other go, sporting matching grins.

I nudged at Quinn to make room on the crate and sat down beside her. Taking a deep breath I revealed my secret. "Finn and I split up." Seeing her surprise I bowed my head in shame. "I turned down his proposal. You were right, I couldn't tie myself down to Finn, we're too young. When I said no, Finn broke up with me. We agreed, for the sake of glee, to stay quiet about our breakup until after Nationals."

I was sad and embarrassed at having to admit I'd been dumped. Even worse was having to admit I'd been wrong all along about being with Finn forever. It somehow felt worse having to admit this to Quinn. Her opinion of me has always meant a lot to me.

"I think they're gone." I looked up from the floor to find a fond expression on Quinn's face. Standing up, she grabbed my hand and pulled me up along with her. Confused, I watched as she moved to place an ear against the door, listening for any movement outside. "We should make a run for it. San, Brit and Puck said they'd wait for us by Puck's truck."

I was grateful for the deft, yet unsubtle, switch in topic. I shooed her away from the door before opening it a crack, looking out into a now empty hallway, the milling students gone. I steeled my voice to sound much more confident than I felt. "Lets do this."

**TBC**


	5. Chapter 5

_**Authors note**__ : I've finished plotting out books 2 and 3 in the series and I've completed writing Book 1 (and started writing Book 2). The editing of the chapters (in Book 1) is all that's left to do now; so I'm going to continue to stick to the weekly schedule as I upload the rest of this story. Also, please remember to leave a review and let me know how you are finding the story so far. __Enjoy! __:)  
_

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**Chapter 5**

I stared at Quinn meaningfully, as I counted down from '5'. Hushing out the number '1', I flung the door of the utility closet wide and we fled the vacant hallway, out through the front doors.

Quinn caught my hand, as we made our escape, and began guiding me towards the car park. "Puck, San and Brit will be waiting for us at Pucks truck." She didn't stop moving as we swerved to jog towards the school's parking lot. "His truck can carry all of us." I nodded mute, as I stayed alert for any danger.

As we began to near Pucks large red truck I slowed down, hauling Quinn back as I raised my hand to caution her to stop. "Where are they?" I asked as my eyes flitted around the eerily empty car park.

From what I could see, Puck's truck looked abandoned, parked in among the other empty cars. "They came straight to the truck?", I questioned, seeing no sign of the three.

Quinn shrugged helplessly. "San said she and Brit would go grab more extinguishers while Puck would get the truck started." Quinn's worried expression matched my own, as doubt creeped across her face, as she relayed their plan of escape. "I said I was going to get you. We agreed we would all meet up at the truck in 10 minutes."

I scanned the desolate car park as I felt my earlier relief, (at having made it out of the school building), begin to drain away. I wished I had my car keys with me, but unfortunately they were still in my bag, back inside the school.

Grabbing Quinn by the shoulders I faced her, my tone earnest. "Can you hot wire a car?" Quinn gave my question a bewildered stare, that soon soured into a dubious one. "I only hung out with The Skank's for like two weeks". She raised a single eyebrow in dissent, sounding insulted, "I didn't exactly pick up much".

I shook my head. "No not like that. I mean," I flung my hands out in exasperation as I tried to explain. "I haven't got my car keys. They were in my bag when you guys came and grabbed me". I grinned when she dipped her head in apology. "Don't worry, its OK. I'm glad you came to get me". I said reassuring her. "Anyhow, I may not have my car keys but we can still break into my car." I pointed out my little automobile across the parking lot. "It's not technically Grand Theft Auto, if you are breaking into your own car right?".

"Not technically." Quinn grinned mischievous as she stepped closer, dropping her voice into a suggestive tone, "but I don't know _how_ to steal a car."

We gazed at each other for few seconds, as I revelled in the strange intimacy of the moment, before Quinn straightened and I cleared my throat out of embarrassment. I had allowed myself to almost forget where we were.

"Anyway," Quinn tried to get back on point, raising her eyes skyward as she began to frown, "that's more Pucks area of expertise. Or maybe Santana's?".

"Quinn!" Santana's voice rang out from behind me and I swung round to see both her and Brittany rushing towards us from the front exit of the school. They each carried a couple of fire extinguishers, one in either hand.

"Speak of the devil." Quinn's soft-spoken words were sardonic. "Where's Puck?" she shouted back, as her fellow Cheerios neared.

"He's not with you?" Brittany looked confused when I shrugged at her question, peering around me to check Puck's truck. "He was supposed to be here waiting for us".

"_A Que chirlo! _((Fuck Men!))". I hadn't picked up much Spanish, due to Mr Schue's questionable Spanish teaching credentials, but I'd hung around Santana long enough now to understand many of her fiery expletives. Usually directed at me. "We can't stay here," Santana continued, shoving one of her fire extinguishers at Quinn, "the pod-people must have him".

"We can't just leave him." Quinn argued, promptly setting down the bottle of cleaning liquid, and grabbing an extinguisher from Brittany. Handing it to me, she then seized the extinguisher Santana offered. "We can't leave him behind to get taken by those Slugs".

Distracted from their argument, I looked over Santana's shoulder. A small group of students were making their casual way towards us. Peering closer, joy shot through me as I recognised their genial faces. Kurt, Finn, Mercedes, Mike and Tina headed our way.

As I took an elated step forward, Santana reached out an arm and promptly blocked my path, pushing me back. "Easy there Shrimptacular". Santana sounded nervous, as she too now turned to face our approaching friends. "That ain't glee club any more, _muchacha_ ((girl))", she said as I stumbled back confused.

"Rachel." Finns voice was warm and cordial, (in sharp contrast to the angry tone he held, the last time he and I spoke). The painful hurt in his voice back then, (after I'd turned down his marriage proposal a few days ago), still preyed on my mind. "We've been searching for you everywhere. You missed Glee Club today".

The other glee club members, stood behind him, began nodding in almost immediate agreement. The action was unsettling. In all the years our glee club had run, it often required us all fighting tooth and nail to get us to agree on anything.

"I've been around." I said, cautious as I hefted my fire extinguisher up. I took a surreptitious glance at Quinn, who didn't take her eyes off him. Quinn's face soured as he addressed her.

"Quinn, you seem angry. Did Rachel say something?" Finn grinned malevolent, as Quinn raised to point her extinguisher's nozzle at him, yet he didn't seem fazed by the threat. "She always pissing people off that girl." Finn spoke as though I wasn't even there, and my mouth dropped open with a soft gasp as hurt rushed through me.

The Glee Club pod-people, backing Finn, began to laugh together on cue. I stepped forward, spurred on by embarrassed anger. "I know you are still hurting Finn." Even as I started to speak, the thought blossomed in the back of my mind telling me that this person was no longer my ex-boyfriend. "Yet I had hoped you would not have stooped so low as to...", I hesitated, my words doubtful as Finn, Kurt, Mercedes, Mike and Tina, turned to stare at me in perfect unblinking synchronisation. "... insult me." I concluded, barely audible.

"Hinky," I heard Santana mutter as Quinn gently grasped my arm and tugged me back a couple of steps, distancing me from the pod-people in front of us.

"We don't want to hurt you guys." Quinn said, but her voice was full of warning. Quinn, Santana, Brittany and I, fell into almost military formation. We stood side-by-side, armed to the back teeth with fire extinguishers and the knowledge that we were facing down brain slug invaders.

"There is no need to be afraid." I leapt with a squeak, whirling around to find Puck standing a few paces behind us. No longer leaning with his trademark slouch, he stood ram-rod straight, his eyes holding the same unblinking stare I'd seen in the other 'taken' glee clubber's.

"Puck?" Brittany questioned as she spun to face him, but I didn't need to hear his answer to know that this wasn't Puck any more.

"It doesn't hurt." A serene smile developed on his face as he took a slow step forward, but I reacted by aiming my extinguisher's nozzle. He stopped mid-step, raising his hands up as he ceded. Quinn and Santana maintained their face-off with the other Glee Clubber's; while Brittany, along-side me, confronted Puck. "When Mr Schue got me back in the classroom, all the fear..." Puck shook his head in amazement as he recalled, "... all the anger and pain I felt just washed away".

Puck reached out a hand to Brittany, but I could hardly see the gesture through the tears filling my eyes. "No confusion," Puck went on, while Brittany seemed unsure about the hand he offered her. "All she wants for us, for all of us, is harmony and peace. Its beautiful".

"She?" Out of all the lies coming from Pucks mouth, that was the only one that piqued my interest. "She who?" I asked.

Pucks face brightened as though he'd found another convert. "Our Queen," he replied, offering his outstretched hand to me. "The one who came to save us all".

I tilted my head curious. "Save us all?" I asked, but just as I was about to question him further, an angry yell rang out from Brittany.

Brittany let loose her fire extinguisher on Puck. "You are NOT PUCK!" Brittany screamed as she doused him with the salt-spray, felling Puck to the floor. Behind me the incensed cries of Quinn and Santana, echoed as they unleashed their fire extinguishers at the rest of Glee Club.

Stunned into stillness, I could feel my feet take root to the floor. The flood of noise around me; full of panic, perturbation and pain, became drowned out by the accelerated thump of fear in my chest.

"RACHEL! Snap out of it!" I found myself jolted back into the present by Quinn shaking me, her hand clenched none-too-gently around my arm. "We need to run. We've got to go". On the ground around us, the body-snatched glee club members writhed. Searching past Quinn I found Santana and Brittany; both of whom now stood a few yards away, yelling at us to hurry.

"Where are they going?", my voice seemed to screech with alarm as I quickly worked out which direction Santana and Brittany were headed. "Back into school!?" I yanked my arm out of Quinn's grasp. "I'm not going back in there! Are you insane?!".

"Insane is standing out here with no ride", Quinn retorted getting right into my face, all of her trademark calm frazzled away. She cast a wary eye on the floored body snatchers around us. "We need to get my car keys from the cheerios locker room. It's just inside the front entrance." Quinn reached out, offering me her hand.

For a few long moments I challenged Quinn's open hazel-eyed gaze, with a stubborn one of my own. "And we won't take too long", I stated firmly, relenting as I grabbed her hand, interlocking our fingers tight.

With an encouraging smile Quinn nodded; before turning to jog back towards the school, dragging me along behind her.

**TBC**


	6. Chapter 6

_Authors Note : Hey guys! Thanks for reading & thanks for your reviews/follows/faves! :) There will be two more long-ish chapters after this, and that will be Book 1 wrapped up. After that it will be straight into Book 2 (still sticking to weekly updates). I'll be posting Book 2 as a separate story (although it is all part of a series); so add me to your author alerts, (or add this story to your alerts), so that you can click straight through to Book 2 as soon I upload it._

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**Chapter 6**

We all skidded to a halt as soon as we entered the school.

"Walk slowly and don't freak out", Quinn said as she took the lead, linking arms with me while Santana and Brittany fell into formation behind us. "We don't know whose turned and who isn't." Her face impassive, Quinn gave her trademark dismissive glance at the disturbingly silent mass of students lining the walls.

Until this moment I'd found the almost complete absence of students, (in and around school today), peculiar. There normally were at least a few students skipping class to hang around the bleachers or the recess area. Now their presence felt suffocating; our classmates standing either side of the gangway, as though we were walking through a gauntlet.

Every single eye rested upon us. For the three cheerleaders accompanying me, this attention likely seemed familiar, having grown used to the wave of popularity given to members of the Cheerios. Yet the looks they faced at this very moment, were not of admiration or envy.

I leaned over to whisper into Quinn's ear. "Do you think they are?" I let my question fade away, my voice all too loud within the subdued corridor. Besides the hush all around us pretty much answered my question. They were the enemy.

As I tried to appear calm I kept my pace steady and my face passive, as we made the short walk to the Cheerios locker-room. Santana, Brittany and Quinn all did this better than I. They had years of practice; marching through the school with a swagger that earned them every letter of the moniker 'Unholy Trinity', swaying their hips with a fierceness that matched their hard glares.

"In here", Quinn said as she tugged on my arm, leading all four of us into the locker room.

As soon as I walked in, I let out a sigh of fearful relief while Santana spun around and slammed the locker-room door shut. "That out there", she blurted turning the latch on the door to lock it behind us, "is some truly fucked up _mierda _((shit))". Santana's fear accented her every expletive.

I slung a disapproving face at her, discomfited at her multi-lingual use of foul language. In return Santana rolled her eyes, punctuating her unconcern at my judgement, by giving me the middle finger.

"What now?" Santana stepped past me with a dismissive shoulder bump and addressed Quinn, who was rummaging around in what I could only assume was her locker.

Quinn straightened as she revealed her car keys, jingling them triumphant. "Now we get the fuck out of here".

Just as I was about to admonish Quinn over her use of foul language, the door of the locker-room began to rattle. I whirled around to see Brittany bracing herself against the door; a chorus of banging raising up from the other side.

Santana rushed over to help Brittany with the locker room entrance. "Guys?" Brittany said, her voice even, despite the doors emphatic shaking, as a group of students tried to force their way inside. "I think they want to get us".

"There is a back way out of here". I did not realise that I'd said those words out loud; at least not until I looked up to see all three Cheerios staring at me. "Um", I scrambled around for words, while they waited for me to voice my idea. "Through the boiler room", I coughed, clearing my throat as I tried to raise my voice over the din of the shaking doors. "The janitor told me". I shrugged my shoulders feeling embarrassed at the admission, "He said I can use the power showers in the Cheerios locker-rooms, if ever I needed to wash up after a slushy facial".

I gave Quinn a fond smile to show her I held no malice about our combative past. Yet she still dropped her eyes, no doubt remembering when she'd been the one to bully me with the icy treats. "You know the janitor?" Quinn asked quizzically raising her gaze back up to meet mine, although after an unsure moment, she returned my wide smile.

"Not 'know' know him like Brittany knows him". I shifted my feet uncomfortable at Quinn's inference. I still remembered the rather worrisome bit of gossip about Brittany making out with the schools Janitor. "He just said he understood that school could be tough at times and offered me some help". My brow started to crease as I recalled. "Actually it is a little creepy that he has a secret back-route into the Cheerios locker-room..."

"This all sounds fascinating Thumbelina". Santana's barbed tone reverberated, along with the shuddering locker-room doors she had propped her shoulder against. "Lets all take a trip down memory lane, while the psycho's out there try to get in here and rip our faces off". Santana's voice laden with irritation, "Really Quinn?" she exasperated, shaking her head in disbelief as she turned her eyes sharply towards her friend. "Her? Seriously?".

Quinn gave Santana a vexed look, a wordless warning to back off, before taking a step towards me and placing a light hand on my shoulder. "Where is this escape route?" she said, encouraging me to continue.

"Of course". I felt foolish for allowing my mind to wander off when I needed it to stay focused on escape. "Its through the boiler room but", I hesitated as I tilted my head wincing in apology, "the door's locked. You need a key to get through it and..."

"Not a problem." Santana interrupted me again and I was beginning to find it annoying. Reaching up into the scrunchie of her ponytail Santana pulled out a small hair pin. "Just show me where the lock is."

"Follow me." I said, leading Santana towards the back of the locker-room, before coming to a stop in front of an unmarked door. "Once you unlock this one, you'll find another door on the other side of the boiler room". I glanced back to find Quinn helping Britanny brace up the locker-room entrance, as Santana moved around me to assess the latch keeping the boiler room locked. "When we get through the other door we'll end up right in the Basketball court". I stepped aside as Santana started work on trying to jimmy the latch. "They keep the court locked outside of game times though," the thought hit me as I watched her work, "we're walking from one locked room into another."

"Anything is better than back out through those doors". Santana slung a nod over her shoulder indicating the commotion behind us, as the latch on the boiler room door 'clicked' open. She swung the door open, causing a sour odour of mould mixed with a sweat inducing heat to hit us. "God it smells like a sweat sock," Santana said as she recoiled from the escaping steam, while I turned my nose away from the stench.

"Come on Santana!" Quinn shouted from across the room. "This door isn't going to hold for very much longer". No sooner than she'd completed her sentence, the rattling of the locker-room doors stopped dead.

The abrupt stillness was unsettling. "What happened?" I whispered, afraid that my voice could cause the marauding students to return.

"Quinn". A single clear voice with its now familiar scratchy edge travelled through the door, and I held my breath as I listened. "You've no need to lock yourself away". Heather's tone seemed to carry more malevolence than solace. "Unlock the door and we can talk".

"Heather?" Quinn questioned, mouthing the name at me silently, as Santana and I jogged back across the room.

"There is nowhere for you to escape", Heather continued; while all four of us stared at each other dumb-stricken. "Just step outside and this will all soon be over".

Quinn twisted to face the door. "Heather, can you give me a few minutes to think about it?" she asked, clearly stalling for time. Quinn sounded cordial, but as she spun around to look at me with wide frightened eyes, I felt impressed by her voice acting.

"Of course Quinn". Heather's words were genial, but her tone still carried an unspoken hint of menace. "You have 3 minutes".


	7. Chapter 7

**Authors Note : **_Thanks for your reviews everyone! I have also decided to continue one of my other stories, 'Drunk Dial', and I've now turned it into a work-in-progress. So go check out that fan fic, (just click on through to my authors profile page__), if you haven't already._

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**Chapter 7**

Quinn took a couple of steps away from the door. "Heather? From Coach Sylvester's office?", Quinn stated looking to me for confirmation and I nodded wordlessly in agreement.

"That bitch!" Santana exclaimed under her breath, but her voice held back none of the venom behind her words. "She stole my place in the Pyramid".

"Oh for goodness sake. Will you let that go?" Quinn started, as the two of them launched into a heated debate about cheerleader hierarchies.

Tuning out their argument, a light bulb switched itself on in the back of my mind. My thoughts repeated this girls name, as though trying to work out the word of a crossword puzzle.

Heather; a girl who despite having only attended this school for a few days, seemed to carry influence over the entire faculty. A new cheerleader, who'd promptly wormed her way into the role of right hand woman to the ever prickly Coach Sue Sylvester. And who now seemed to hold sway over bands of marauding students trying to break into locker-rooms.

"It's Heather". My hushed words were still loud enough to interrupt the dispute going on between Quinn and Santana.

I gazed up to find three curious expressions, as I continued to piece together the idea forming in my head. "Santana, when were you bumped down the pyramid?"

"What?" Santana's eyes grew hard at the perceived insult, as she reached out behind her towards Brittany. Brittany grabbed the proffered hand and moved away from the locker-room door.

Before Santana could begin her doubtless drawn-out insult, I pressed on. "I didn't mean...", I paused, huffing with frustration as I tried to explain. "Heather arrived a few days ago and walked right into the Cheerios Squad. Am I right?"

Quinn nodded, her expression speculative as she eyed me. "Coach Sylvester gave her the vice-captain spot without even needing a try-out. Something about knowing 'natural talent' when she sees it." Quinn's eyebrows drew together as she recalled back to earlier in the week. "It was weird because Coach always makes us go through weekly try-outs just to prove we are worthy of staying on the team. No-one's ever walked right into the squad before."

I nodded as my suspicions felt vindicated. "The only recent thing different in this school, is Heather. She is the only new student to join; and so late into the school year too." Quinn's facial expression dropped as she began to catch on. "So three days ago; she wanders into school, walks right into the Cheerios squad, Coach Sylvester starts acting weird and a few days later the entire school is insane".

Brittany gasped and I watched as her face brightened with understanding. "The Queen. Puck said Our Queen. Heather is the Queen isn't she?" Brittany grinned brilliantly at me for a few moments, before her smile dropped a little. "I got it right didn't I?"

I gave her an encouraging smile. "Yes. I believe you are right."

Santana looked from me, to Brittany, before returning her gaze back to me. "So Heather's the Queen Bee to the hive-mind?" I inclined my head as I confirmed Santana's query. "That Bitch!" Santana once again exclaimed under her breath.

"Why us? Why here?" Quinn asked incredulous as she gazed around our group. She voiced the question that had been on the tip of my tongue ever since we'd escaped Coach Sylvester's office.

"Why not?" Santana scoffed. "If you wanted to take over the world, would you blow up the White House? The fireworks would attract way too much attention". Santana shook her head in wonder at the idea. "No, Lima is the perfect place for an invasion. If you want to invade all stealthy like, you walk right into a small town filled with losers who don't ask too many questions". Santana sighed as she drew Brittany in close for a hug, her eyes closing briefly as she found some comfort in the gesture. "I knew I wouldn't get out of Lima".

I hadn't realised it until this moment, but I'd subconsciously reached for Quinn's hand and only now did I notice the reassuring weight of it in my palm. I shuffled closer to her, her presence calming me. "Maybe that's why the Queen wants the cheerleaders and the football squad first", I mused, "your squads are always travelling around the state. At the rate she's going, she'll control the entire state within a couple of weeks".

"That is not going to happen." Quinn said, her voice determined. "We can't let Heather get out of this town." Quinn stared Santana down who looked as though she were about to argue against the idea. "If we leave and go home, how long before she gets to our parents? Say she takes over the state, where will we hide? It will be over for all of us. For everyone". I listened in awe as Quinn stepped into the leadership role she was always meant for. "We need to make a stand. If we can take out the Queen then the hive mind is bound to fall. We've got a chance here to save everyone". Quinn wavered when she met my eyes. For a moment, I saw the scared little girl behind them, but she remained sure. "We have to stop her", Quinn concluded her expression pleading with me to join the fight.

I've always believed that I was born for the big stage. It didn't matter whether the stage was in my living room in front of my two loving fathers, (who right this minute I so wished were with me), or a theatre crowd of hundreds. Whenever I heard my name called, to take front and centre, I rarely felt nervous. All that mattered, when I took to the platform, was that I knew what song I'd planned to sing. So long as I had a plan then the show would go on.

Never letting go of Quinn's hand, I straightened myself to my fullest height. "We need a plan", I said with every ounce of confidence I could muster.

"I have an idea". Brittany piped up, from where she stood, cuddled in Santana's arms.

* * *

Less than a minute later, it seemed as though I was the only sane person left in the room. "I don't think we've all fully thought this through". I desperately searched around the room for understanding. "Are we really going to follow a plan based on a Wiley Coyote cartoon?"

"Hey! Lucky Charms" Santana's punctuated her sharp retort by taking a threatening step towards me. "You got a problem with Brits plan?"

As I took a breath to begin my comeback, out of the corner of my eye I saw Quinn become alert to Santana's menace and she moved in to intervene. "San, just finish unlocking the other boiler room door". Quinn stepped in front of me, blocking Santana's angry glare. "We are all fine with the plan. So take Brit and you two go pick the lock."

Santana peered down at me from over Quinn's shoulder. "So long as you carry out your side of the plan". Santana sneered at me before she sauntered over to Brittany who patiently stood waiting for her, beside the boiler room door.

I waited until Santana was out of ear shot before voicing my concern, once again, to Quinn. "We need to keep the locker-room door bolted". Quinn twisted to face me as I gestured at the locker-room entrance. "Not invite her, or rather IT, inside." I whispered fiercely.

"Time's up Quinn". We both jumped at the sound of Heather's voice filling the room. For a moment I idly thought that if weren't for the fact that Heather was a psychopathic Queen slug, her powerful albeit scratchy voice would have been a fantastic addition to glee club. "Are you going to do this the easy way, or the hard way?"

"Quinn!" Santana stage whispered from across the room. "We've got the door open. Brit's getting the stuff". She jabbed a finger at the locker-room door. "Keep stalling Cruella De Vil".

Quinn nodded, turning back towards the locker-room entrance as she raised her voice to speak to Heather. "The easy way but only you can come in". Quinn's expression seemed befuddled, no doubt lost for something to say, but I had no ideas left and indicated so with a contrite shrug. "If I'm gonna be turned", Quinn continued, "I want only you to do it. I don't want to get turned by any of those losers out there". I gave Quinn a thumbs up at that deflection.

"Fine." Heather replied after a moment's hesitation. "Unlock the door. I've already sent away the others anyway".

"I have one question." Quinn asked Heather as she watched me move into place. Apparently I'd been chosen to open the door to let the monster outside, in. How my having 'freakishly small hands', (as Santana inferred to them), made me perfect for the job I do not know. I mouthed 'keep Heather talking' at Quinn. "Why here? Why Lima?" Quinn's intrigue sounded genuine and it seemed Heather picked up on the mystification in her voice.

"Why not?" Heather replied and I could almost hear the verbal shrug in her tone. "When I arrived on this planet, this was the perfect backwater town. There's nothing of consequence about this place". At those words, Santana and Brittany jogged back into the room carrying a small step-ladder and a large open vat of blue cleaning liquid; the industrial strength kind used to clean the Basketball court.

"You should have hit up a bigger city. You would've gained control over a lot more people, much quicker." Quinn said as Santana and Brittany began to fix the vat of cleaning liquid just above the locker-room doorway.

"This is why I like you Quinn", Heather's voice was genial, "you catch on quick. I'm guessing you know I am the Queen?"

"It was easy enough to work out, given how great you are at cheer-leading". Quinn ignored Santana's quiet admonishing 'hey!'. "Let's get this over and done with". Quinn positioned herself in front of the door while Santana and Brittany ran to hide behind a nearby locker. Quinn would be the first person Heather would see. "The doors unlocked."

Taking my cue, I quickly unlatched the door but didn't open it, hurrying away to take cover behind one of the nearby lockers, cradling a fire extinguisher as I hid.

I held my breath listening to the entrance door creak open. Too afraid to peer around the locker at what was going on, I heard Quinn speak. "Come on in", her voice wavered for a moment and I prayed this plan would work, that Heather wouldn't notice anything amiss. "I want to get this done before end of school," Quinn's voice hardened as she faced down the Queen Bee.

**T.B.C.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Authors Note :: **_And here is the next chapter! Please remember to leave a quick review to let me know what you think of the story so far. Thanks :)_

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**Chapter 8**

I held my breath as I dared to peek around the corner. Hearing the handle of the door creak as it turned, I caught Heather striding into the room without the slightest hint of hesitation. As she took a large step inside, the vat of salt-laden cleaning fluid above the door, fell down and drenched her from head to toe.

Quinn dived out-of-the-way as she cried out, "Now!" but her outcry could barely be heard over Heather's ear-splitting screams. Santana and Brittany rushed out from their hiding place, armed with fire extinguishers, and soaked Heather emptying the extinguishing fluid on Heather's writhing form.

The sound of bitter wailing was painful now, and for a few heart-stopping moments I watched horrified as Heather transformed into a sumo sized slug. Human skin melted off her body to reveal a dark grey shapeless translucent body, wriggling around on the floor. In that stark instant I saw the thing that was trying to take over our school, our town, even our planet. Worse still, this was the thing that tried to stop me from ever reaching the Broadway stage.

At that thought I suddenly felt awash with anger. Letting out a lung splitting yell I charged at the monster, the nozzle of my fire extinguisher pointed and spraying all the way.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Quinn rushing over to join the fight with an extinguisher of her own. The chloride spray releasing into the air around us had started to sting my eyes, but I squinted away the pain, determined to stop end this fight here and now.

When the screaming finally stopped, and our extinguisher tanks emptied, all four of us stood around the crystallising true form of Heather. The salt had dried her out into a large husk of a slug, and I felt oddly disappointed as I stared down upon the bone-dry creature on the floor.

"I thought that would be more difficult." I stated, looking up to find the other three staring back at me. "Stopping her I mean", I went on to explain. "I get that slugs hate salt, but that slug..." I pointed a finger at Heather's former shell, "...travelled all the way from another planet. How do she get taken out by a cartoon trick?"

The others nodded in agreement. "It figures", Santana mused as she poked a curious toe at the husk on the floor. "If you had the entire universe to choose from but decide to live in Lima," Santana shrugged, "you've gotta be a Lima Loser of intergalactic porportions." She shook her head with faux disappointment. "Plus she could change form into anyone. She could at least have tried to look hotter." Santana scoffed, extending a hand to Brittany who grasped it without hesitation. "Come on Brit. Lets go check if the hive mind no longer..." Santana hesitated, wrinkling her brow for a moment, "... has hives?"

I linked arms with Quinn, who at first seemed a little startled at the gesture, but soon relaxed into me as we left the locker-room trailing out after Santana and Brittany.

* * *

_When we left the Cheerio's locker room, we found the school student population recovering as the slugs simply crawled out of the ears of the body-snatched, and fell to the floor. Expelled and crystallised slugs lay everywhere, freeing their captives but creating an almighty clean-up job for the school Janitor. It was gross._

_So gross in fact, school shut for a full week after what I had come to refer to as 'The Lima Incursion', (although Quinn preferred the title 'The Attack of the Killer Brain Slugs'). _

_When the building reopened, Principle Figgin's called a school wide assembly out on the football field. Addressing us via the field speakers, he told everyone that the recent school 'unpleasantness' was a consequence of bad school canteen food. And the mass hysteria that followed was a result of severe dehydration by a food bug, causing spontaneous 'Aquagenic Urticaria', a rare allergic reaction to water. At least that was the lie he was given. _

_As I'd sat in the bleachers, watching Principle Figgin's deliver his address, I saw two FBI agents seated on the stage behind him. The Ray-Ban clad agents said nothing but saw everything, and I doubted Principle Figgin's would have been able to tell us the truth, even if he wanted to._

_It seemed that anyone who'd survived being body snatched, suffered from severe dehydration. From what Puck told me - when Quinn and I visited him in hospital the day after having defeated the Queen - the doctors said that his body had started to shut down. Thankfully, an emergency round of fluids soon had him back in shape. Puck couldn't remember anything after having been slugged by Mr Schue during their fight in the classroom. It seemed like memory loss was another side effect of having your mind taken over._

_Finn, Kurt, Mercedes and the others were all fine too, recovering within a few days of their hospital stay. Mr Schue wanted us to take a break from Glee rehearsals while we all healed up from recent events, but I quick;y talked him out of that idea. We'd already lost too much time slacking off during lessons and I'd persuaded him that singing through our pain would be a good way to work through the trauma._

_From the moment we returned to school, Finn had tried to hang around me more than usual. I attempted to let him down easy, explaining that as Glee Club now knew about our break up, we no longer needed to keep up appearances. Still I seemed to find him at odd points in the day, stood just a few feet away from my locker, with a hang-dog look upon his face. _

_From what I could tell, Finns expression seemed caught between either him fighting a bout of gas, or him trying to figure out a way to get near enough to me to talk. Thankfully however, since our return to school, Quinn rarely left my side lately. And more often than not her glare would be enough to keep him at bay. If I were perfectly honest, I'd have to admit that I kind of like it. It's as though we're BFF's in every sense of the term, despite the fact that Quinn and I haven't actually made our BFF status official. Still, I'd made us matching BFF calendars and placed them on stand-by._

Those were the thoughts that jumbled about in my mind as I sat waiting on the school bleachers over the football field, watching the cheerleaders finish up their training session. It seemed as though Coach Sylvester was trying to make up for all the time she lost – having been forced as a pod-person into showing kindness to others – and so had the squad working out harder than usual.

Nevertheless Coach Sylvester took mercy on Quinn, Santana and Brittany; allowing them to only run 5k around the field, and not the 10k she'd sent all the other cheerleaders on. I think Coach Sylvester kind of knew The Unholy Trinity had something to do with stopping 'The Lima Incursion'. Or least that is what Coach Sylvester's suspicious gaze, and snide retorts, implied any time she passed by me, Quinn, Santana, and Brittany. It wouldn't surprise me if Coach Sylvester was one of the few people to clearly remember some of the stranger happenings of the past couple of weeks, despite her having been one of the body-snatched.

"Whatcha thinking?" I swiveled round at Quinn's jovial voice to find her captivating smile and dancing eyes taking me in. She hopped up into the seat beside me, soon followed by Santana and Brittany as they took their seats up in the bleachers behind us.

As Quinn sat down I caught a strong whiff of strawberries; the trademark scent of the shower gel I'd lent to Quinn earlier. She'd just arrived fresh from the locker-room, changed out of her Cheerios uniform. That was yet another recent Coach Sylvester leniency. Quinn, as well as Santana and Brit, were no longer required to where the uniform at all times, on school grounds. "Nothing much", I replied. "Kind of. I was just thinking about how crazy this is." I waved a hand out across the football field, indicating the students all milling around and carrying on with daily life. "Its like no-one cares about what really happened".

"That's because they don't remember it Berry", Santana groused from behind me. "Why should they worry about an urban legend?" I twisted around to look up at Santana as she played with the fingers of Brittany's hand, her brow creased in thought. "At least we can say we were there. And survived."

"But if we don't learn from this event, how can we possibly hope to prepare ourselves from a future attack?" I replied, peeved that I seemed the only one worried about this. It is a big universe out there. Today, its alien slug invaders. Tomorrow, who knows?

"Maybe you and I can plan a defence." Quinn leaned into me drawing my attention away from Santana. "Over say, lunch? I know Bread-sticks has added a couple of new vegan dishes to their menu." Quinn lowered her voice a little as Santana began to snigger behind us. Confused, I turned to look at Santana then back at Quinn who seemed to have the beginnings of a slight blush on her cheeks. "I mean I'll pay and everything."

"For all four of us?" I asked. Bread-sticks was the only decent eatery in town, but that also meant they could charge a premium. A meal for four could easily set you back over fifty bucks. "We should split the cheque." I nodded resolute, addressing both Santana and Brittany, as well as Quinn. "That's a marvellous idea Quinn".

I jumped up, enthused that someone was finally willing to help me put together another one of my renowned 'emergency' plans. I already prepared my back-up plans for Nuclear War, Financial Collapse and a Zombie Attack. Alien invasion had completely slipped my mind.

As the other three girls stayed seated, I felt perplexed for a few moments, by their inertia. Santana sported a sardonic grin, Brittany wore a blank facial expression I could not decipher, and Quinn seemed to look a little embarrassed.

"Sure OK," Quinn said weakly, her eyes flitting at Santana who pointedly groaned at her words. Ignoring Santana's outburst Quinn continued. "All four of us sounds good." Her cheeks pink, she pointed behind her towards the school car park. "Meet you all at my car in about 5 minutes? I've gotta go pick up some stuff from my locker."

I grinned as I watched her rise from her seat. "Of course," I said excited as I leaned in to give Quinn a quick hug, feeling the tickling sensation of her breath on my neck, before taking a step back.

As I watched Quinn make her way down the bleacher stairs, and I began to gather my things, it took a few seconds for me to realise Santana and Brittany were still seated. "Aren't you two coming?" I asked, only to have Santana throw her hands up into the air with an exasperated roll of her head. Confused, I turned to Brittany for answers, but she merely sat and shook her head at me.

"Well we have to now," Santana said. Her tone reeked with irritation.

"If you two would rather..." I began.

"Yes we would, but that's beside the point." Santana interrupted as she rose from her seat. "Its like you've contracted Finn's dumbness like some STD," she said as she not too gently shoulder bumped past me on her way down the steps.

Brittany cast me a sorrowful look as she trailed behind Santana. "You should get tested for that," she said dryly.

Nonplussed I called out after them. "But I thought you two loved Bread-sticks?"

**THE END (For now...)**

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**Coming up next in 'The McKinley High Chronicles'**

**The McKinley High Chronicles : Book 2 – The Lusus Naturae (Jeepers Creepers II / Rachel)**

_Lusus naturae 1. a person or animal that is markedly unusual or deformed. 2. Freak, monstrosity, monster. _

**Rachel did not hesitate to accept Quinn's offer to accompany her – and the Cheerios – on an away game road trip. **

**Yet on the return trip home, Quinn's disgruntled Cheerio team-mates turn out to be the least of her worries.**

Lisa had a kind of delicate beauty that would have left you breathless, if she didn't ruin it all by always opening her big mouth.

"Seriously Rachel," Lisa's expression wrinkled in incredulity. "Are you and Quinn like," she paused for scandalous effect, "Lesbi-Friends?"

"Yeah Rachel." Santana turned to face me with a mischievous grin. Seated across the aisle from me, she leaned out into the school bus gangway, merrily egging on the barrage of questioning I'd had to endure from Lisa, a freshman Cheerio squad member.

The moment Quinn left her seat at my side, (making her way to the front of the bus to speak with Coach Sylvester), the gaggle of Cheerios surrounding me began to question my presence on the school bus. Their voice's raised as they tried to make themselves heard over the repetitive victorious chanting of McKinley Highs basketball team, all seated at the back.

"Quinn's been mighty _protective_ of you lately." Santana uttered her words provocatively. "All those sleepover's you two have been having in your Elven Kingdom?" I caught the sound of a couple of Cheerios chuckling nearby as our conversation started to draw more attention. "Don't tell me all you get up to is _study_."

* * *

**Authors Final Note :: **_And that was that! The updates to Book 2 will be every 2 weeks for now (at least in November) as I'm taking part in this years NaNoWriMo (the annual challenge to write a 50k word novel in 30 days!). So all of my editing will be falling by the wayside in favour of some seriously crazy levels of daily writing._

**Also F.Y.I (just to clear up any possible confusion) :: **_When I started writing this series, (based on classic horror films), I took the general premise of the films and placed them into the Glee world. However, my intention was always to put my twist on the film's story, (and not follow the film storyline step by step). Having said that, I recommend that you go and rent/purchase/borrow The Faculty, if you haven't seen it. It's a fun film. :)_


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